NROTC Commissioning

Eighteen students at SUNY Maritime College received their commissions into the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps on Thursday, May 3, in St. Mary’s Pentagon in the historic Fort Schuyler. The students will each receive their bachelor’s degrees at commencement May 4.

Of the 18, ten were commissioned as strategic sealift officers; one became a civil engineering corps officer; four earned commissions as surface warfare officers; and two joined the Navy as submarine warfare officers. The last was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the U.S. Marine Corps.

“Simply put, your role as a young leader will be critical to our nation’s continued success. Maritime security and economic prosperity necessitates that maritime professionals are leaders, innovators who think critically and creatively and lead with the best interest of their sailors and their nation at heart,” said Capt. Clinton Carroll, chief of staff of the Naval Surface Force Atlantic, who delivered the keynote address at the commissioning ceremony. “You have built a foundation for success right here at SUNY Maritime. Now you must practice what you’ve learned.”

Four received swords from representatives of the U.S. Navy League New York and Long Island chapters; New York Naval Militia; and the Surface Navy Association in recognition of their academic excellence, leadership and athletic prowess.

Each of the new officers took their oath of office and received the insignia of their new ranks and their first salutes at the ceremony.

The group included the valedictorian of the SUNY Maritime College class of 2018, Chi To Chan who will receive a degree in Mechanical Engineering and was selected to join the NROTC program through the Seaman-to-Admiral 21 program, which allows active-duty sailors to earn a college degree and become commissioned officers. Chan’s assignment is with the Naval Mobile Construction Battalion Five in California. The group also included Pat McDonald, who will graduate with a degree in engineering and was named the Skyline All-Conference First Team for Privateers basketball for the second season in a row.

Carroll went on to remind the new officers that the world is facing significant and new challenges, as technology advances and warfare changes to include actions by non-state actors, cyber warfare and artificial intelligence. He urged them to remember their critical role in controlling the seas and ensuring maritime security, which is vital not only to the security of the United States but to the economy.

Carroll, a graduate of the Naval Academy, and his staff are responsible for the daily operations of more than 60 ships and 25,000 personnel stationed ashore and afloat from the Norwegian Sea in the Atlantic to the Persian Gulf. Carroll previously commanded the USS Robert G. Bradley, Amphibious Squadron Three and the Essex Amphibious Readiness Group, and served as the chief of Naval Operation’s Fellow to the Council on Foreign Relations. He previously served as the keynote speaker at SUNY Maritime’s commissioning ceremony in December 2016.

The New York City NROTC battalion housed at SUNY Maritime includes students from Molloy College, Fordham and Columbia.

Live Stream from Spring 2018 CEREMONY:

Photos from Spring 2018 CEREMONY:

2018 NROTC Commissioning